Communication is extremely important in the workplace. According to a study from Harvard University, 15% of the reason an individual gets a job, keeps a job, or advances in a job, is related to technical skills and job knowledge; the other 85% has to do with their people skills (Mann, 1918). It’s not only an asset for the job, but often a necessity. Some of the top reasons why talented young professionals are getting fired in the modern era include lack of collaboration, miscommunication, lack of accountability, overconfidence, anxiety or depression, and lack of vision (Miller, 2017).

It is possible some students may have never had a job before and therefore have zero professional communication experience or tact. This, of course, is not always the case – but serves to ensure that everyone is given an opportunity to make the all-important first impression a good one.

It’s recommended that you assign a Team Leader to act as the main point of contact with the client. Be sure to clarify this does not mean only that one student speaks with the client – but rather for the purpose that the client only must send one email to one person when requesting a meeting with the team.

For students working in a business environment, you will feel the need to learn new words and obtain new skills such as speaking on the phone in the most professional manner, creating an outstanding CV, writing letters to your partners, or making unique presentations. To do this, it’s necessary to develop your business vocabulary.

Team Relationships

The Team Canvas is a strategic framework that helps team members kick off projects and align on a common vision.

Tom Wujec: Build a tower, build a team (TED.com)

Audience Analysis

Audiences must also be analyzed in terms of characteristics.

• Background – One of your most important concerns is just how much knowledge, experience, or training you can expect in your readers/viewers. If you expect some of them may lack certain background, do you automatically supply it in your document?
• Needs/Interests – To plan your document/presentation, you need to know what your audience is going to expect from that document. Imagine how readers will want to use your document; what they will demand from it.
• Demographic Characteristics – Age group, type of residence, geographic location, gender, political preference, etc.

Types of Audiences

1. Experts – those who know the business, organization, product, or service inside out.
2. Technicians – Those who build, operate, and repair items that the experts design and theorize. They may have highly technical, practical knowledge.
3. Executives – Those who make decisions about the product/service. Likely to have little technical knowledge.
4. Non-specialists – Those with no technical knowledge at all, but wish to utilize and/or understand the product/service.

More Than One Audience

To target multiple audiences, you can either:

1. Write all the sections so that all the audiences of your document can understand them.
2. Or you can write each section strictly for the audience that would be interested in it, then use headings and section introductions to alert your audience about where to find relevant information in your report.

How do you use this information?

Provide The Right Information

• Add information readers need to understand your document. Think carefully about your readers, and revise and edit your document so that you make the technical information more understandable for non-specialist audiences.
• Omit information your readers do not need. Unnecessary information can also confuse and frustrate others.

Guide Your Reader Through Your Writing

• Create topic sentences for paragraphs and paragraph groups. It can help readers immensely to give them an idea of the topic and purpose of a section (a group of paragraphs) and in particular to give them an overview of the subtopics about to be covered.
• Write stronger introductions—both for the whole document and for major sections.
• Break text up or consolidate text into meaningful, usable chunks.
• Add cross-references to important information.
• Use headings and lists.
• Use special typography, and work with margins, line length, line spacing, type size, and type style. For non-specialist readers, you can do things like making the lines shorter (bringing in the margins), using larger type sizes, and other such tactics.
• *Always consider Accessibility Requirements when creating documents, presentations, etc. Some suggestions:
  • Documents: Abilitynet.org
  • Presentations: Sigaccess.org

Business Etiquette

Responding

• Proper response time
• Out of office messages
• Formality
• Listening skills
• Avoid distractions
• Focus on the respondent and/or who is around you
• Civility
• Mindful of noise pollution
• Mindful of scent pollution

In-Person meetings

• Understand what the meeting is supposed to address/cover
• Take notes (see ‘Minutes’ section in this chapter)
• Keep your cell phone on silent or vibrate
  • Do not answer unless it is urgent
• Have a well-defined agenda
• Do not be late
• Be a good listener
• Speak clearly and concisely
• Predict questions or doubts
• Dress appropriately
• Ensure proper follow up is completed

Email

In business, email has largely replaced print hard copy letters for external (outside the company) correspondence, and in many cases, it has taken the place of memos for internal (within the company) communication.

E-mails may be informal in personal contexts, but business communication requires attention to detail, awareness that your e-mail reflects you and your company, and a professional tone so that it may be forwarded to any third party if needed. E-mail often serves to exchange information within organizations. Although e-mail may have an informal feel, remember that when used for business, it needs to convey professionalism and respect. Never write or send anything that you would not want to be read in public or in front of your company president.

Tips

• Specify your subject line (Make it meaningful, clear, and brief)
• Use a professional email address
• Use a professional greeting: proper salutations demonstrate respect and avoid mix-ups in case a message is accidentally sent to the wrong recipient
• Avoid “Reply All”, or be vigilant about verifying who is in the recipient list
• Proofread
  • Double-check the email address
  • Review tone
  • Download Grammarly if you struggle with grammar, spell check won’t catch everything!
• Avoid “ALL CAPS” or overuse of font identifiers (bold, italics, highlighting, colors, etc.)
• Take caution when attaching files – Should it be a PDF?
  • Ensure you actually attach what you state is attached
  • Verify file before sending is the intended one
• Avoid abbreviations, slang, emojis, etc.
• Close with a signature. Identify yourself by creating a signature block that automatically contains your name and business contact information
• Avoid emotional responses — never reply in anger or haste.
• Make a habit of replying to all e-mails within twenty-four hours, even if only to say that you will provide the requested information within a specified time-window
• Test links. If you include a link, test it to make sure it is working

Phone

• Identify yourself
• Ensure you are using an appropriate tone of voice
• Have a plan for what you are going to say before you call
• Speak clearly
• Avoid interruptions and eliminate background noise
• Do not be distracted by other activities
• Always return phone calls in a timely manner

Texting

Texting is not useful for long or complicated messages. Careful consideration should be given to the audience/recipient. Although texting will not be used in class as a form of professional communication, you should be aware of several of the principles that should guide your writing in this context. When texting, always consider your audience, your company/institution and choose words, terms, or abbreviations that will deliver your message appropriately and effectively.

Anticipate unintentional misinterpretation. Texting often uses symbols and codes to represent thoughts, ideas, and emotions. Given the complexity of communication, and the useful but limited tool of texting, be aware of its limitations and prevent misinterpretation with brief messages. (Gross, et al., 2019, p. 15)

Netiquette

Netiquette refers to etiquette, or protocols and norms for communication, on the Internet. We create personal pages, post messages, and interact via online technologies as a normal part of our careers, but how we conduct ourselves can leave a lasting image, literally.

Tips

• Avoid assumptions about your readers/audience. Remember that culture influences communication style and practices.
• Remember there is a person behind the words. Ask for clarification before making a judgement. Check your tone before you hit send.
• Be judicious. What you say online is difficult to retract later.
• Quote the original author if you are responding to a specific point made by someone else. Ask the author of an email for permission before forwarding the communication.

Code of Ethics

A code of ethics is a guide of principles designed to help professionals conduct business honestly and with integrity. A code of ethics document may outline the mission and values of the business or organization, how professionals are supposed to approach problems, the ethical principles based on the organization’s core values, and the standards to which the professional is held (Investopedia, 2019).

What does a Code of Ethics include?

• Business Ethics
• Employee Code of Conduct
• Code of Professional Practice
• Duty to Report

It’s extremely important that you understand you should seek out clarification on areas you may not understand. It is okay to say “I do not know – but I will find out and get back to you”.

Ontario Human Rights Code

Protected grounds such as:

• Age
• Ancestry, colour, race
• Disability
• Marital status (including single status)
• Gender identity, gender expression
• Sex (including pregnancy and breastfeeding)

Scenarios – things to consider:

What if a client offers you money to do outside work?

• Think of yourself as an employee
• Conflict of interest with the current task
• Employers will often have you sign a “Non-compete Clause” as part of your employment
• Suggest potential opportunity when the task is finished

What if a client is late to a meeting?

• Be aware and be inclusive. Sometimes lateness is cultural and not meant to be inconsiderate.
• Have a time frame
• Example: if you haven’t heard anything from the client in 15 minutes, reach out to them in a direct manner – phone, text (if the client relationship includes it), email
  • If the client does not respond, send a follow up email asking to reschedule for a time that is convenient
• If it seems to happen perpetually, look to other forms of communication and have response expectations for moving forward. This is where the dashboards are key, as they can highlight if something is being held up based on approvals.

What if a client leaves the company?

• Have backup or secondary contacts and a list of stakeholders – this should be part of your communication plan from the beginning/

Accessibility

Understanding the needs of your team, client, and important stakeholders is key to creating an environment conducive to productivity and efficiency. More than that, it is the opportunity to create a welcoming environment that encourages each individual to perform at their best.

By considering typical barriers to communication, you can plan strategies to meet the needs of the individuals. The following chart from the Open University outlines some potential changes you can make to be more inclusive of your peers: